12d • 💬 General
Story for anyone who's addicted to the gym + business
You might have heard of the billion-dollar brand Gymshark...
I decided to research them a bit recently after shopping for some new gym socks.
Ben Francis was working for $5 an hour just six months before launching Gymshark.
He's now become one of the youngest billionaires and he did it all leveraging one incredibly genius marketing strategy.
In 2012, when Ben started sewing shirts from his parents garage, marketing was a bit different.
You ran ads.
You posted on billboards.
And maybe if you were “ahead of your time,” you posted on YouTube.
So maybe it was because Ben was only 19, or because he was launching from his parents' garage, or because he was just really passionate about what he was launching…
That he thought of a new strategy.
Ben’s strategy?
Well it allowed him to completely avoid expensive advertising campaigns.
Instead, Ben brought in the absolute best leads, while hardly showing his own face online, and blew up overnight.
(Literally….his website crashed because so many people ordered a tracksuit)
So what did Ben actually do?
Just 3 things.
He went to in person events. This is where hype within the fitness space was initially generated.
People came to his table, got to test out the clothing, and other fitness enthusiasts got caught up in the hype.
Imagine you bring your online business to an in person event....
And when the doors open, you get completely overrun??
By customers you didn't even know you had.
At this point Ben outsourced manufacturing.
They had to turn the "stock off.”
Bonus nugget: Ben obsessed over quality.
They launched the women's range which flopped at first, and now their leggings sell out in minutes
Next Ben sent samples of his clothing to his favorite fitness youtubers…
Sounds basic?
Well it was revolutionary when Ben did it.
No one was doing “influencer marketing.”
Influencers were an entirely new concept.
But Ben loved watching gym content, so it made sense to send them his new gymwear he’d just sewn together in his parents basement.
And because his product was unique, and Ben made fitted, stylish gym-wear, the influencers took notice.
Which meant a lot of them showed up to his in-person events.
Adding more fuel to the brand’s hype.
Finally, Ben started nominating GymShark Athletes.
Imagine you just pick random people online, who match your perfect avatar, and “nominate them to promote your product?
Except they’re so excited they cry.
(That really happened with a recent athlete and it’s on Ben’s linkedin)
Because the brand is so big it becomes an honor to be one of their representatives.
Ben treats his business like a mission.
He checks his Margin numbers every day and has for the last 12 years
Ben’s obsession with product and marketing via personal brands gave him the reach he needed to make Gym Shark a global brand.
Who'd be your dream influencer to market your offer for you?
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Story for anyone who's addicted to the gym + business
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